At the dawn of the 20th Century, the United States Forest Service (USFS) began organizing wildland firefighting efforts. Up until then, fighting forest fires had been a local affair, with towns’ people taking on blazes with the same shovels, rakes, hoes, and axes they used on their farms and gardens. All these ungainly garden tools had to be packed in on horseback. In the early 1900s two USFS Rangers, Edward Pulaski and Malcolm McLeod started thinking of ways to combine, and improve the tools of the day.

Ranger Pulaski was famous for having saved the lives of forty of his forty-five-man crew, when they were overwhelmed on the Great Idaho Fire on August 10, 1910. He led his crew to shelter in an abandoned mine shaft, then drew his pistol, and threatened to shot any man who tried to make a run for it. Shortly after the experience, Pulaski introduced an ax with an adze blade set at a 90-degree angle opposite the ax blade. While retaining the utility of an ax, the tool’s adze blade could be used to break up hard soil, making it a versatile combination cutting –digging tool. The tool was named Pulaski in his honor, and was in wide use by wildland crews as early as 1913.

Around 1905, Ranger McLeod introduced his invention, a combination hoe and rake. He combined the tools and modified them specifically for their firefighting role. He gave the hoe a wide blade for chopping through roots and scraping away large amounts of soil, while the tines of the rake morphed into six long, rounded steel fingers, ideal for clearing loose surface materials.

The Pulaski and McLeod tools have come down to us through years unchanged, but as a result of forestry policy, today’s wildfires burn hotter and travel faster than traditional forest fires, and the tools we use to fight them have evolved as well.

Today, we employ a wide array of equipment: Helicopters drop loads of water on spot fires with precision, single engine tankers paint lines of fire retardant to slow the progress of a fire and protect structures, and heavy air tankers drop tons of retardant to stop a fire in its tracks. Specially designed engines and tenders with off-road capability claw their way across the landscape, and massive bulldozers cut fire-brakes through the forests. But, when you hear that five hundred or a thousand firefighters have been deployed to fight a fire, know that almost to a person, they’re doing it the old fashioned way, with basic hand tools. Digging miles of fire line, hacking through roots and scraping away vegetation to create of line of raw earth between what has burnt and what has not. This backbreaking work is the basic tactic in every wildland fire attack.

The tools we use to cut these lines haven’t changed since the 1900s. McLeod and Pulaski are still the names we rely on, but a small company in Cedar Ridge, California is working to improve upon the designs of the past. The J.R. Fire Tools Company is the brainchild of Fire Captain John Russell. John applies 20-years of wildland experience to the design and manufacture of his line of firefighting tools. One way Mr. Russell insures that he’s getting it right, is by putting his tools in the hands of the pros. Folks like the hotshot crews of the USFS and Cal Fire. And now Elk Creek Fire Department is honored to join the list of departments deemed professional enough that their opinions matter.

On June 2012, Elk Creek Fire Department received samples of the J.R. Fire Tool line: a Pounder, Big Foot, Scalper, and a Chingadera. The tools arrived with specially made 40-inch S-shaped Hickory and 48-inch straight Ash handles. All J.R. Fire Tool heads and handles are interchangeable, so you can customize the tool to fit your needs. The first thing we noted was the quality of the heavy, heat-treated, oxidized steel blades, sharpened on three sides, and the precision of the welds and overall construction of the tools.

The JR Fire Tools saw service with Elk Creek crews on several Colorado wildfires, as well as on local trail building projects. Everyone who used the tools was impressed with their design and quality.

“These are top quality, American made tools. I’ve never seen a better-made wildland tool,” said Elk Creek Firefighter Ryan Tinkey.

Elk Creek Wildland Coordinator Jacob Ware said the Pounder was his favorite. He said he liked the way it felt in his hands, and that the weight and size of the blade were ideal for cutting line. He was also impressed by how durable the steel blade was. “ You can pound rocks with it all day, and this tool will still hold an edge.”

My personal favorite was the Big Foot. Its 12-inch wide cupped head pulls a lot of dirt with every stroke. I found that I used the point of the sharpened right side of the blade to break up vegetation, much like I’d use a Pulaski, and I saved the sharpened left side of the blade for hacking through roots. Everyone was drawn to the 40-inch S-curve Hickory handles, but I’m a bit taller than average, so I stuck with the 48-inch strait Ash handle.

From a hands-on standpoint, the feed back on these tools could not have been more positive. Another great thing is that the J.R Fire Tools line is competitively priced, with each tool costing around $90. Fair pricing helps your department’s wildland budget go a little farther, and puts world-class tools in a more hands. Plus since this is a small, US start up company, when you need information, or want to talk about an order; you’re talking with the owner.

For more information visit J.R. Fire Tools online at JRFireTools.com, or contact John Russell at 530-272-1444 or email at: John@JRFireTools.com. Michael Davis is a Firefighter and Public Information Officer with the Elk Creek Fire Protection District in Conifer, Colorado.